Group of Seven Chefs - Dairy Dinner

A dinner by the @GroupOf7Chefs with guest chef @matthewjennings.

This all began with a little tweet, one word really. I had seen that @carmenhungry had received tickets for the upcoming Group of Seven Chef's dinner at the Royal Winter Agricultural Fair, not wanting to be overly animated about it and show how envious I was of her, I just replied with "lucky!". Later that evening, to my surprise, I received a message from her asking if I wanted to attend the event as well…. You know that feeling when something surprises you and makes you really happy? Yeah that was me when I got that message. Long story short, thanks Carmen for inviting me to this fantastic dinner!

The theme of this dinner, if you couldn't already tell, was dairy and agriculture. As the jingle goes "Good things grow-ow, in Ontario!". Wine was graciously provided by Fielding Estate Winery, I'll have to admit I definately found a couple new wines I really like (but I guess that was the point right?).

On a completely different note, our table was awesome. Everyone at the table, with the exception of the two of us, were in the restaurant industry and worked for the chefs cooking for us. Aside from the fact they're great people, it was awesome meeting other Firefly fans! (Fuck you Fox for ruining one of the best shows ever made!)

*Note to self: l had decided to leave my camera in the car....I kind of regret that now.

Post card menu

Menu 

Before dinner there was a nice reception where we were treated to some parking wine from Fielding Estate Winery, a Traditional Method Brut, and a couple of hors d'oeuvres to wet our appetite for the evening ahead of us. 

Wagyu beef tartare with carrot slaw and ginger

Pork belly steam bao with aioli

Sous vide venison with pickled onion and black truffle

Now lets start the show!

Our first course by @chrisbrownto (The Stop) and @mcutrara (Cowbell) was of smoked eggs, chestnuts, monforte toscano with a pairing of 2011 Fielding Estate Chardonay. 

Omitted was the pickled tongue, not sure why it was left off the plate, but it gave us a fun,  but futile, scavenger hunt. Some of us at the table were guessing that it was in the purée, others saying that it was the jus. But only two of us (proud to say I was one of them) was right in calling it not on the plate.

These scrambled eggs were perfect. Smooth, velvety, with a hint of smoke. There was a little slice of ginger on top just to add a bit of a kick. The shaved monforte toscano, made from sheep's milk, added a nice sharpnes to the dish. The wine was prefectly paird with a sweet but grounded flavour. Reminding me of the crisp fall air. A great start to the meal.

Course 1

The second course by @mattydeathbro and @BeastRestaurant was of St. Canut Farms porcelet de lair (milk fed piglet) belly, smoked eel, bone marrow, watercress, and root vegetables. Paired with a 2011 Fielding Estate, Estate Pino Gris.

This dish surprised me. I've had bone marrow before, but never in powdered form. The marrow was rendered down with sunflower oil then mixed with maltodextrin (a food additive normally used in soda/candy/processed foods, but when combined with a liquid fat will absorb the flavours and aromas while retaining it powdered form). The eel was smoked in Applewood, one my of my favourite flavours. My addiction to Applewood smoked salmon is a story all on its own. The wine was light and aromatic, while having enough richness to complement the pork belly. This dish hit all the right tones. Probably the most balanced dish of all night.

Course 2

The third course by guest chef @matthewjennings was of Vermont goat done 3-ways: miso, maple & burnt alder cured saddle, goat's blood boudin, and a creton, served with homemade chèvre (goat cheese) and pickled autumn berries. Paired with a 2010 Fielding Estate Cabernet Sauvignon-Syrah (I've never been a big fan of Cabernet Sauvignons, so this wine fell a bit flat for me)

This was my dish. Every flavour, texture, and smell I absolutely loved. Is perfect too strong of a word? The goat saddle was marinated for 2 days then wrapped in chicken skin, kind of a porchetta like thing. Purée is of Bur cucumber and turnip. The creton was something different, from what I know it's normally a pate like item, but this take with the creton had a cornflake crust and fried! Very nice bold earthy flavours, the saddle was tender and juice, just to die for. A very well done dish by the Chef Jennings.

Course 3

Chef Jennings introducing his dish.

The fourth course was by @ChefBuca of water buddalo, cialda al sovrano, latte crocante, and mozzarella, pairs with a 2011 Fielding Estate "Lot 17" Riesling.

Smoked water buffalo milk with white venetian polenta. Cherry tomatoes picked at their ripeness and preserved in olive oil for 2 months. I love the food at Buca, so it's no surprise that Chef Gentile created another very well balanced dish. Everything about this dish was just phenomenal, the cherries explode in your mouth with sweet full flavours reminding you of summer, the bits of cookie spread throughout provided a nice texture change. All of which do not over power the subtle flavours of the smoked water buffalo milk. The wine was fruity and sweet, almost a like a late harvest wine but not as much as an ice wine. Although I do not normally like sweet wines, this was quite pleasing and enjoyable.

Course 4

Our fifth and final course was by @TheTemperedChef (https://twitter.com/TheTemperedChef) making a salted caramel mousse line, pumpkin sponge, apple gianduja compote, szechwan dulce de leche, with milk crumbs. Paired with a 2010 Fielding Estate Vidal Icewine.

I'll start off by saying I'm not normally a fan of desserts. They usually fall flat for me and usually fall in the "It was good, but I could have gone without" category. But holy shit this was good! When you think of fall desserts pumpkin and apple pie's come to mind. Chef Alépée took those familiar flavours and elevated them to a new level. It was something you knew, but a new experience with new flavours and smells. Again a well balanced dish, while being a dessert, it wasn't overly sweet. There was a wonderful mix of textures and flavours all working in unison with each other creating a surprisingly good dessert. The mousseline was made with pumpkin & sunflower seeds, and coffee grinds (I think this was the component that won it for me, just love the early flavours the grinds brought to the dish). The icewine was well paired, but being icewine it was too sweet for my liking, another glass of the riesling would have been perfect for me. 

Course 5

Thanks again to Carmen for inviting me, and all the chefs for the wonderful meal and Fielding Estate Winery for providing the wine. It's one to remember.

If you're interested in the future Group of Seven dinners please check them out here. 

Oh and we also had some great bartenders performing for us :)